'Severe weather'

Jake Kelly, customer service director for the South West Trains - Network Rail Alliance, said: "Over the past few days, we have been carefully monitoring the weather forecast to enable us to make a decision about the level of service we should plan to run.

"With severe weather warnings in place for heavy snow on our network, we have taken the decision to put a special timetable in place for Friday 18 January.

"We know that what our passengers want most is certainty about when and how they are going to get to their destination.

"This special timetable helps ensure this by running slightly fewer services and allowing more time for trains to cope with poor conditions."

Mr Kelly said it would help avoid train crew being in the wrong place and would help passengers plan ahead.

David Sidebottom, passenger director at watchdog Passenger Focus, said: "Passengers tell us that if there is going to be disruption they need as much notice and information as possible to help them plan their journeys, so we welcome this forward planning by South West Trains.

"We would also hope to see a good flow of information tomorrow if severe weather means even less trains can run or conversely if the predictions prove unfounded we would want to see services increased and passengers kept informed both before they travel and at the station."